Nicotine Vaping

The Hon. S.L. GAME (16:09): I move:

That this council—

1. Recognises that regulated nicotine vaping, for current smokers and for those who have quit smoking, is a safer and cheaper alternative to cigarette smoking;

2. Recognises the growing body of international scientific evidence that supports improved public and personal health benefits of regulated nicotine vaping compared to cigarette smoking;

3. Acknowledges that safer, cheaper, and more effective alternatives to cigarette smoking, such as regulated vaping, ought to be more easily accessible legally for adults who wish to quit smoking and former smokers; and

4. Acknowledges that current vaping policies have inadvertently resulted in a significant expansion of the black market and an increase in youth vaping.

Youth vaping is reaching epidemic proportions. What was once billed as a product to assist nicotine cessation has become trendy and lethal for our kids. Its primary purpose as the most successful nicotine replacement therapy remains severely restricted and our state and federal governments' approach of not regulating vaping is making the situation worse.

A recent poll of 1,500 people commissioned by the Australian Association of Convenience Stores, found that 84 per cent of voters agreed that nicotine vaping products should only be available through licensed retail outlets to adults, the same as alcohol and tobacco products. Australia is the only Western country operating under the prescription model, instead of regulating the nicotine vapes to be able to be legally sold from licensed retail premises to adults, especially those wishing to quit smoking. Tulipwood Economics has released new data indicating that the federal government would raise more than $9 billion if the ban on vapes was scrapped, allowing products to be regulated and taxed in the same way as tobacco.

I previously introduced my Controlled Substances (Nicotine) Amendment Bill 2022, which would allow for the regulation and sale of nicotine vapes of a prescribed concentration for use in an e-cigarette product. There is growing scientific evidence suggesting that regulated vaping is a far safer alternative to deadly cigarette smoking, the latter of which is shown to prematurely kill somewhere between one-half to two-thirds of continuing users.

In Australia, restrictive and onerous constraints on accessing unregulated nicotine vaping products have resulted in a booming black market where unregulated devices are purchased online or over social media with ease. Recent research suggests that 1.6 million Australian adults are now vaping. A Roy Morgan poll revealed that unregulated vaping has grown by 347 per cent over the last five years.

Despite nicotine vapes requiring a medical prescription, there is evidence that only 2 per cent of nicotine vapes are obtained in this manner. Alarmingly, 98 per cent are accessed via the black market. The illegal supply of nicotine vapes enables children to access this dangerous product, often with devastating health outcomes. There is a growing body of evidence that even zero per cent of nicotine vapes legally sold in South Australia are hazardous to people's health.

An independent report commissioned by the United Kingdom's Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, released in September 2022, drew on more than 400 published studies from across the globe, including many that investigated signs of harm or levels of toxic substances in the body after smoking and vaping. The review confirmed what previous studies have also shown, which is that vaping is estimated to be at least 95 per cent less harmful than smoking over the short and medium term.

What cannot be forgotten in this debate is the sad reality that 21,000 Australians are dying every single year from smoking-related conditions. An analysis of 171 trials of all smoking cessation medications by the UK National Institute for Health Research found that regulated vaping was the single most effective of all of them.

Evidence from such randomised controlled trials is supported by observational studies, population studies and seen empirically in jurisdictions where regulated vaping rates are high. In New Zealand, which passed the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Act 2020 in August of that year, the government promoted that it is putting 'New Zealand on track to saving thousands of lives and having a smokefree generation sooner rather than later'.

In the United Kingdom, regulated vaping is a formal part of the Tobacco Control Plan and is supported by the Department of Health, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the Royal College of Physicians, the Royal Society for Public Health and almost all public health, medical and health associations, and charities.

By adopting a regulated public health measure, an estimated $200 million per year in windfall taxes would flow into the federal government's coffers from regulated nicotine vapes. As more smokers switch to this far safer alternative, healthcare costs will also fall and so the overall benefit to the budget will compound.

I am not suggesting that regulated vaping is completely safe and risk-free. Regulated vaping is not recommended for non-smokers and of course not engaging in either smoking or vaping is the healthiest option, but the reality we are dealing with is that, compared with smoking deadly cigarettes that contain over 7,000 toxic chemicals, vaping, which generally has fewer than 100 detectable chemicals and at lower doses, is a safer alternative. Based on the substantially reduced number and dose of carcinogens in vapour, the lifetime cancer risk from regulated vaping has been estimated to be less than 0.5 per cent of the risk from smoking.

The federal government's approach, banning vapes unless prescribed, will continue to fuel the black market trade. Regulated vaping products, in the same way as cigarettes, will protect children and reduce the number of the next generation of users as it will smash the black market. Coalition leader, Peter Dutton, has confirmed he will support lifting existing restrictions on unregulated vaping introduced this year by federal health minister, Mark Butler, paving the way for regulated vaping. Mr Dutton has argued these restrictions would not reduce the black market trade and that Australia should treat nicotine vapes in the same way as tobacco.

Vapers should not be faced with high barriers, penalties and restrictions to obtain a product that is safer, cheaper and shown empirically to be effective at smoking cessation. I am urging our state and federal governments as well as my colleagues to re-evaluate their approach and perception of unregulated nicotine vapes and to support this public health measure that will save the lives and livelihoods of South Australians. I commend this motion to the chamber.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. I.K. Hunter.